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Wake Up Sleepy Buddha: The Buddhist Path in Practice

Location icon
375 Panterkill Road PO Box 70 Phoenicia, NY 12464 United States
Date
February 4 - 7, 2027

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Details of this retreat

This retreat introduces core Buddhist practices beyond mindfulness in a way that is accessible, experiential, and rooted in traditional wisdom. It is welcome to both newer meditators and those with an established practiced who are looking for a  clear orientation or refresher.

The retreat offers a grounded, experiential introduction to the broader Buddhist path, emphasizing direct practice, integration into daily life, and trust in our innate capacity for awareness and compassion - our buddha nature. Rather than focusing on doctrine, scholarship, or religious identity, the teaching remain rooted in traditional sources while meeting the realities of contemporary life.

Participants will explore a survey of integrated practices drawn from across the Buddhist spectrum, including contemplation, concentration, compassion, and insight. These practices are presented in contemporary language while honoring their traditional roots and interrelationship.

This retreat offers a clear, grounded bridge between introductory mindfulness and the living heart of Buddhist practice.

This retreat is well-suited for meditators, therapists, helpers, and anyone seeking depth without dogma, and a clear bridge between mindfulness and the living heart of Buddhist practice.



Schedule:

Thursday, February 4

3 - 6 pm Arrival & Check In
6 - 7 pm Dinner
7:30 - 9 pm Welcome Session -Brief overview of Buddhist Path

Motivation/Intention & Precious Opportunity Contemplations
Discussion and direct practice
Dedication of Merit discussion



Friday, February 5

7 - 7:30 am Optional Early Practice Session: Introduction to Tsa Lung Trulkhor (optional morning practice)
8 - 9 am Breakfast
9:30 am -12 pm - Morning Session: Elaborate overview of Buddhist Path and Practices

Introduction of Refuge, Generating Bodhicitta
Introduce concept of Unconditional Love via cross section of Modern Attachment


12:30 -1:30 pm Lunch
2 - 5:30 pm - Afternoon Session: Basic Mindfulness

Advances Concentration through the Stages of Asanga’s Elephant Path


6 - 7 pm Dinner
7:30 - 9 pm - Evening Session: Introduction of Tantric Visualization Practices

Introduction of Guru Yoga & direct practice



Saturday, February 6

7 - 7:30 am Optional Early Practice Session: Tsa Lung Trulkhor Practice Session (optional morning practice)
8 - 9 am Breakfast
9:30 am -12 pm - Morning Session: Introduction of Emptiness/Insight Practices

Contemplations Meditations
Emptiness of Self Direct Investigation Practice
Revisit Mindfulness


12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch
2 - 5:30 pm - Afternoon Session: Emptiness of Thought

Emptiness of Sensory Experiences
Emptiness of Emotional Experiences
Practicing Mindfulness with the Field of Awareness itself as the object)
All phenomena as empty practice


6 - 7 pm Dinner
7:30 - 9 pm - Evening Session: Revisit afternoon insight practices

Sunday, February 7

7 - 7:30 am Optional Early Practice Session

Tsa Lung Trulkhor Practice Session (optional morning practice)


7 - 11 am Check out of rooms
8 - 9 am Breakfast
9:30 am -12 pm - Closing Session: Review of program

Bringing all practices together
Program closing


12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch & Departure

*Please note this schedule is subject to change.

Getting Here

Location icon Menla, 375 Panterkill Road PO Box 70 Phoenicia, NY 12464 United States

Accommodation

Deluxe Queen

Accommodation
Deluxe Queen Room with Queen Bed and Private Bathroom Free Phone and Hi-Speed Wifi Internet Access Available Air Conditioning All Rooms in Lhasa are Handicap-Accessible, Including Four Rooms with Wheelchair Accessible Showers. Deluxe Queen Rooms are Available in Lhasa Inn and Kathmandu House * Please note that rates include meals and accommodations

Economy Single - Shared Bath

Accommodation
Standard Single Room with a Twin Bed and Shared Bathroom Bathroom is Shared with One to Six Other Guests on Your Floor. A phone is not available but high-speed WiFi is available in the room Phone Access Available in Nearby Conference Center and also Lhasa in Business Center. All calls are free of charge. This Lodging Type is not ADA Compliant. * Please note rates include meals and accommodations.

Economy Double - Shared Bath (Shared Room)

Accommodation
Standard Double with Twin Beds and Shared Bathroom The bathroom is Shared with other rooms on the same floor. High-speed Wi-Fi is available in the room. Phone Access Available in Nearby Conference Center and also Lhasa in Business Center. All calls are free of charge. This Lodging Type is not ADA Compliant. * Please note that rates include meals and accommodations * Please note: this is an open door policy room, meaning there are no keys to lock the door (we have lockers you can use at Lhasa if needed) * This booking is for one bed in a double shared room: We May Assign You Roommates if You Do Not Register with others

Customer Reviews

4.80 out of 5.0 average rating

4.0
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This is a special place
I attended Menla for a Therapist Ketamine retreat. There were approximately 35 attendees and 8-10 faculty. The buildings and the grounds are stunning and do what they set out to do..... force you to relax! The conference center offered so much space and ability for smaller groups to break out. I was fortunate enough to stay in a deluxe room which had stunning and peaceful decor and a very comfortable bed.

The Menla staff was welcoming and helpful.

I was disappointed with the meals. I live in the SF Bay area and am fortunate to have access to very high quality and thoughtful vegetarian food. I found the meals to be Okay but not delicious. I should mention that our group didn't have breakfast. I did appreciate the creative beverage offerings and constant access to fresh fruit - the apples were yummy!

3.0
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Nice place, kind staff, pricey, food was not good, not enough
The cabin was comfortable, and the shared areas were nice. The food, however, was extremely limited—mostly beans and vegetables, essentially a $2 meal with no meat or chicken. After one hour of being served, most of the food was gone and not replenished, so arriving around 1 p.m. meant finding almost nothing left. Beans can also trigger gas and discomfort, and the Indian dishes were too spicy, causing bloating. For the price of the stay, the meals felt inadequate.

Staff should wait until meetings are finished before moving items or making accommodations. The trail signs were also confusing and unclear; improving them would make a big difference.

5.0
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Breathing in the Heart of Nature
I've visited the center twice, in June 2025 and June 2026, and both times I found it restful, peaceful, and a place to feel at one with nature, with many opportunities to swim, walk, and hike without leaving the center. It's a great place for meditation, reflection, care, and nourishing food. I had a spa session with Nitty, a Reiki practitioner with over 30 years of experience, and it was better than expected. While there, I saw many animals and birds, and a woman using the Cornell University bird app was able to identify 37 species in one sitting on the patio of the main building. The staff is very friendly, and the spa center with a swimming pool is the most luxuriously built of all the buildings. The biggest luxury I've found in Menla is silence.

5.0
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Wisdom Path with Isa and Bob
What a time to be at Menla! What a time to be blessed to work with Isa and Laura at the Sacred Stream and to partake in the Wisdom Path at Menla this past weekend. It was not hard to feel Bobs immense energy xoxoxox

Thank you for the beautiful room, the delicious food and the friendliest staff! And thank you for welcoming my two small doggies!! Sending you all lots of love and light, Sherri Serino

5.0
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Such a beautiful setting
Menla is the best retreat location I have been to. (Others are Garrison Institute, Omega, Art of Living in N.C., and Insight Meditation in Barre, MA) It's beautiful, peaceful, has great walking trails. It's beautiful campus to walk across. The lodging is excellent-- great beds, linens, rooms, artwork on wall. And the food is the best I've had-- all vegetarian but with lots of flavor.

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